There have been various attempts to create small-size, light-weight, inexpensive, quiet, portable punch presses that are practical and economical to manufacture, use and maintain. Such attempts have been, in large part, failures. The reasons for the failures have included lack of sufficient tonnage, lack of balance, excessive numbers of parts (especially, parts that need to be specially made and/or require large seals), inability to adjust, inability to use with different sets of dies, etc.
Furthermore, the prior-art presses of the type indicated have sometimes involved movable large-diameter rods, instead of the fixed or stationary guide pins that workers in the art are accustomed to.
Very importantly, the adjustability of prior-art presses has been either excessively expensive and impractical or has permitted inequality, the latter resulting in off-balance forces that can be destructive or create excessive wear.